Procedural Rights In Criminal Justice

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The Bill of Rights were created in addition to the Constitution to further explain and break down procedural rights. There are 12 provisions listed within the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth that apply to the criminal justice process.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from search and seizures that are unreasonable. Therefore, protecting a person and their possessions from law enforcement searching without proper warrants, in order to locate evidence to be utilized in preparing a case against the individual. Requirement of correctly issued warrants is imperative for law enforcement to obtain evidence in order to formulate a strong case in order to convict a suspect.
The Fifth Amendment states three procedural rights including; “ …show more content…

103). The first procedural right of a speedy and public trails is applicable directly on the federal level, but in certain circumstances applies on the state level. The federal courts time limits under the Speedy Trial act of 1974 have two parts; one for the time of initial arrest and charging and the other for the time period between charging and trial. A defendant is protected by the right to a trial before uninfluenced peers in felony cases and misdemeanors who carry more than 6 months’ punishment. This helps to provide a fair trial in front of a jury to in the decide the punishment or acquittal. A defendant must be told of charges and can not be held without knowing the pending charges. In court cases the defendant is able to attend the court proceedings providing their courtroom behavior is appropriate and are allowing to ask witnesses questions in regards to the crime involved. If the defendant requires a specific person to testify the right to compulsory process for obtaining favorable witnesses allows them to subpoena persons’ to court. This simply means the person will be requested by a formal document to appear in court, and if they do not show can be punishable by the courts. The last procedural right covered under the Sixth Amendment is the defendant’s right to be provided council either privately paid for or court appointed if the defendant does not have the means to

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